fishnkamp

The funny thing is, I did not feel the St Croix had a better balance and the blank never seemed to me to be a medium fast action. That blank feels way more parabolic to me. I have a friend that dearly loves his, but I prefer the Dobyns more than the St Croix. In fact I have sold off all of my ST Croix rods in favor of Dobyns, Irods and Powells. If I had to choose between a Sierra SA703, the Avid X or an Irod Genesis II 712S, I would choose the Sierra first, the Irod next and the St Croix last. That is just the way it goes for me. Since I began using Dobyns, Irods and Powell rods I have sold off all of my St Croix rods.

Gorgeous and costs more than my first house!!!

The Sierra blanks are more sensitive then the older Savvys were. That Sierra SA 693SF is going to be my next rod purchase. I have had both the Sierra 693SF and a ST Croix Avid X 6'8"MXF in my hand and much preferred the feel and taper of the Dobyns than the St Croix. I suggest you put both in your hand with a reel on them.

With a boat like that, many of the important things that have to be checked out on an older boat are less important in my opinion. I rarely believe in buying a boat without test driving it. However that is a brand new boat. It is unlikely you would have a blown motor, or anything seriously wrong with it. So here is what I would do. First go check with your local Merc dealer (does not have to be the Bass Pro ). Find out from the part/service dept if that motor has the ability to hook up directly to a garden hose using an adapter or do you need to use the old fashioned ear muffs. Some of the new ones use an adapter and screw right in on the engine. Be sure to explain you do not want to just flush the motor, you want to start and run the motor. I would ask her to allow you to charge up the batteries and hook it up to a garden hose. Check that it starts easily. Make sure the steering moves smoothly. The trolling motor can be tested right on the driveway, just be careful that you lift it up enough the prop is clear, Put in the light poles front and back. Turn them on and make sure things like the bilge pump and livewell pumps can be heard buzzing if you momentarily turn them on. Lastly hook up to the trailer and test the trailer lights. Make sure all of the lights work. If all that is cool I would ask her to go take a short boat ride. If she does not feel comfortable I would probably just purchase it with a bank check. That would give you the ability to stop payment if something was found to be a major problem once I test drove it. I would leave with it and go test run it immediately.

Way2slow I was not suggesting you were wrong. One of my old bass club members had an older Lowe and he in fact had an issue with the steering hub. It was seizing up and had to be replaced just last fall. Most people do not have the ability to service an outboard as you do. Not every boater has you experience or is tooled up to remove an engine if needed. I suggested a dealer look at it just in case the op was not a mechanic. I would feel terrible if he disconnected the steering and did not tighten it back up correctly causing a failure later. The recent video of the two college anglers being ejected from their boat, while competing in a tournament, was pretty frightening. As we both know, most boaters do not grease the fittings on the steering system or perform normal engine maintenance as often as the manufacturers suggest. I live minutes from and regularly fish tidal water. So corrosion is a major issue, something that most fresh water boats hardly ever deal with. Around here grease can be your best friend, no matter if we are talking engines or trailers. Because of the harshness of our environment, it is necessary to service a water pump at least every other year or the impeller will get hard and take a set, leading to loss of water pressure and then things go downhill fast. When I fished only freshwater in PA, I might not need to do that more than once every 5 years. I even had to replace the zinc on the engine, something else no fresh water boater needs to do. The OP could be having trouble with the trim tab being mis adjusted, or not be familiar with how to properly trim his engine while operating it. Lowe does in fact mount the engines basically flush on the transom on this model. He could in fact be having a mechanical issue with any of the steering components as well. The fact that he said it would not move much by hand while sitting on the trailer made me think perhaps it was an issue where the steering cable goes thru the pipe ( where you can add grease) I could be totally wrong. It is just that my engine is a 2002 Merc 75 and it is mounted on a 2010 Lowe Stinger 170. If I grab ahold of my engine I can turn it side to side a bit as he related about his previous engines did.

My wife and I fish with a bunch of Presidents and love them. I wanted a higher end reel for her frog rod so I went with a Shimano Symetre. I hope I will not regret it. They have had terrible trouble with some of them locking up and had no fix so they discontinued them. I have since purchased a Pflueger Supreme for another of her heavier setups. I have never been dis appointed by Pflueger yet. Some of our Presidents are more than a decade old and 2 are newer.

I suspect you have a 20 year old trailer that has been neglected for quite some time. If you have to spend $1000 for a new trailer than that is equal to only a few months payments. If the axle was a problem last year, then it would have been a priority to fix properly last year, if it belonged to me. If your boat is rubbing on any type of metal while loading and off loading, I would find out why and fix that. Perhaps you need to replace sagging boards, or your brackets are wearing too much into softened ready to fail wood bunks. I would not complain, I would go inspect, repair/replace before we will read the trailer broke in half at the ramp. I have seen this happen and it is not pretty.

I would recommend having a dealer look at it. Have them disconnect the steering cables at the engine. See if the steering wheel moves freely. It could be a problem with the steering hub, the cables or an issue with the bar going thru the tube at the engine. If the steering is tight, even with the cable disconnected then there is a cable or hub issue. I run a Stinger 170 and have had a 25 Merc ( used to fish a hp limited lake) and now a Merc 75 hp outboard. I have never had an issue with tight steering. By the way there is a grease fitting on that tube ( In the picture you can see a big nut right at the side of the motor bracket and the steering assembly there, it is located in that area)

Then they are doing it right. The ones I have seen were located in MD, PA, TN and VA.

They are both great boats. You will find many owners that love them. Pay attention to one thing on the Skeeter that you may or may not like. I am a mechanic by trade and have fairly big hands. I really dislike the levers you lift up to open their storage lids. I do not know if they have changed the design but it was sorta like a bar you pulled towards you. I had difficulty with them. Several years ago the Elites came to MD and fished the Upper Bay. That is where I got 3 test rides. One was on a big Skeeter and boy could that boat handle the rough stuff. It was my first ride in a boat with a SHO and I really liked it. I was not impressed by the Nitro or its ProXS. The Triton I thought would have been my top choice but again I would have ordered it with the SHO. The one we test rode in had a ProXS also.

Bass Pro is not interested in lake testing, only collecting money and moving them out. That is why you have to accept a 12 volt tm and upgrade it yourself on many of their aluminums.

Good Luck. I know he trusts Potomac Marine completely and I believe several of his pro staff have used the fiberglass shop.

I spoke with my friend Bryan. He said to call Potomac Marine and ask for the name of the fiberglass shop they use. The fiberglass shop is located in Richmond Virginia. I hope that is close enough for you to work with. Potomac Marine's phone number is 703-670-0080. They are located in Woodbridge but use a Richmond VA repair shop.

My $100 source for a CT is a brick and mortar store so I consider it a $100 reel. I would even take a Fuego over the PQ2.

I shared the photo and your need to get it repaired with a friend of mine down in Northern VA. He knows a lot of the boating/ fishing guys down there. If he does not have a good suggestion one of the members on his website should. They are primarily down your way. I will post as soon as I hear from one of them. Good Luck man. That hurts but it can be fixed.

Better he is on your back, then nipping at my wallet!

I sent you a pm,

Unfortunately the new ones sell for $79. I just sold my original Veritas for $30 at a flea market. I was happy to get that much, sorry to say. Before you do that, try a different reel on it. Sometimes the size of the reel will cause you to hold the combo differently, so you may find it more comfortable. If you have a buddy, maybe you could try a couple of different ones, if not go to your local tackle store. I have traded reels around on some of my rods because I repurposed them to fishing a different type lure. I wanted a different reel with a specific gear ratio on them. It just so happened one reel felt like a better match on a different rod.

If you heard mixed reviews on Daiwa reels they were more than likely not from Daiwa users. Having said that, the Tactical is a Tackle Warehouse only version. it would not be your best option. The only version Tackle Warehouse has left in inventory is a 7.3-1 left handed reel. They have sold out of all of the other stock. Most likely Daiwa is no longer building it for them. Cabelas had a special version of the Tatulas built for them also. The best option is to go with your choice of a right handed reel in 5.5, 6.3, 7.3, or 8.1 gear ratio reel. Left handed reels are available in a 6.3 and 7.3 to 1 gear ratios. 8.1 lefties are available in the Type R reels only. Personally I fish with 1 Exceler, 4 original sized Tatula Type Rs, and 2 of the smaller version Tatula CTs. I love them all, they are amazing reels regardless of their price. If you send me an email at fishnkamp@comcast.net then I will share a supplier that can sell you any CT version for $100 shipped to your door. Otherwise they retail for around $129.

They are both terrific. I have a friend Kris that owns four Fury rods and loves their feel. I have played with them and like them as well. I do not own an Inferno, but the most versatile rod I own, and one I love to fish a lot, is an original Powell Max. It is a a Powell Max 683 CRF. Go to Tackletour and read the review. The owner of Powell told me the Inferno is very close to my rod. He aso said the new Max3D rods are a tad bit stiffer than my rod, they have a bit more power in the blank with about the same tip. I do not know if Tackletour ar wired to fish has reviewed a Powell rod in a while. Man I have held rods in both lines of Powells and most of the Dobyns and they are great rods. The Dobyns 734 is their most versatile rod they sell in any of their lines. In the Powell I would consider the Inferno 734 also.

Bass Pro Shops itself is calling their new reel "The PQ2" right on their website. It says right in the description that "it is a smaller framed aluminum housing, and still has the same dual braking with click adjustable magnetics and a 6 pin centrifugal cast control". That is essentially the same system it has had for quite some time. I dislike that cast control as compared to that of the Daiwas. It is the same reason I sold my Curados and Chronarchs. The Shimanos are beloved by many, just not me! This is what my fishing experience from using many reels has taught me. I make my comments based on that experience only. If Bass Pro Shops had said it had an improved cast control, than I would have had to test one for comparison. I could care less about 1 ounce of weight on a reel. I love my original Type Rs and they weigh 7.9 ounces, so that is .6 more than a PQ2. That is irrelevant. My preference is based strictly upon my experience that has come from actually fishing the braking system that Daiwa developed and uses in all of the different versions of the Tatulas. It is called Magforce Z. In my opinion, until Johnny Morris has a truly new reel designed (or like always he buys someone out so he can steal their technology) then BPS sell nothing that compares to the Tatula family. The Daiwa Tatula CT is the least expensive of the Tatula lineup and it shares almost all of the goodies that the more expensive versions offer. As the price goes up, so do the extras each version offers. Some versions offer a weight reduction and a size reduction, some offer lighter weight "sv" spools and better bearings etc. They all add up to reels I can enjoy fishing with and rely on for years of service. They also offer the ability to easily obtain aftermarket parts to customize them with. This is also an area many Diawa and Shimano users share.

I have fished original PQs, EXtremes, even BPS special edition Ricky Clunn reels for years ( the purple ones). Then I started converting over to Curado Es and Chronarchs. All of my Shimano and most of the BPS reels are gone from my inventory. Their replacement was made due to the major upgrade the 1 Exceler, 4 Tatula Type R reels and the 2 Tatula CTs provided me. MY Exceler, and Type R reels have had several years of hard fishing on them, the CTs one year of use. I do not expect the PQ2 to be much of a competitor in actual use. I have 6 more Extremes I will slowly upgrade from and most of those replacements will be more CTs and CT SVs. Their braking system is just far superior. Go cast one and then let us know what you think. I will not buy any of Johny's reels, when I can get top of the line stuff from Daiwa.

I would give you 3 suggestions and I love all 3 of these rods. Number one is my primary jig rod. It is a Powell Max 683 CEF. You can read the Tackletour review of this rod. They have upgraded these rods so the same rod is now a Max3D model which is just a tad more powerful in its backbone. The Inferno series version of this rod is a probably closer to the original, but either will be terrific rod to fish with Next look at a Dobyns Sierra SA734C. That is a great do it all rod, good for jigs, tx rigs, spinnerbaits, and even some buzzbaits or spinnerbaits. i like the Sierra over the Fury for its sensitivity. I also love the Irods Genesis II series of rods. Here I would look at the IRG704C and IRG 744C rods. Both very versatile rods. My wife and I fish several other models of these rods and love them.

My suggestion is to try another brand rod in your local store. You should be able to tell if it feels different but I would bring my reel with me to test it with. There is another idea too, temporarily install another baitcasting reel on that rod. See if it makes a difference where your hand ends up contacting the rod. Maybe it might help to use a larger or smaller reel on it.

ai own and fish with a bunch of more expensive rods. Two of those include a Falcon Bucoo and an Irod, both are used for crankbaits. I also use two Berkley Lightning Shock rods for cranks. In the fall the stripers leave the main Chesapeake Bay and enter the tidal rivers. Iti s at that time I can go catch them with my aluminum bass boat. I need 4 crankbait rods on the deck in order to fish different brands of traps. I fish some Rattle Traps, Red Eye Shads, some one knocker XCaliburs, and even some Cotton Cordells, and they differ in weight as well. Those two Berkley shock rods do just as well as any of the other two rods so that would be my suggestion. Get a 6'6" Medium mod Lightning Rod Shock. For less than $60 it is your best choice. If you can double your budget than I would go with a Dobyns Fury 705CB, but that is not what you asked about.